You know, The Dictatorship. The cultures where The BOSS * tells people what to do because they know best, expecting people to simply follow along wholeheartedly.

It’s that style that Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup was probably thinking of when he said that his data supported getting rid of “The Managers from Hell” and generating more of the behaviors we see with the top performing ones. (My article here and here and Clifton’s article here)

There is simply a lot of data out there, from a bazillion different sources, showing that supervisors and managers can simply do a better job of facilitation discussions about the workplace and working with their people to define better ways of getting things done. Involvement is so closely linked to engagement and alignment and discussions about issues and opportunities will relieve a lot of the frustration that most people report. If you had a situation where you simply had a better idea that would benefit you and others, wouldn’t you like the opportunity to share that idea and have it listened to by someone who could make a difference?

How would you define Facilitation?

For many people, based on the data, it would seem that a lot of people would liken it to Fear of Public Speaking, something dreadful and dangerous. Asking for ideas from people might open up that can of worms and cause all sorts of issues and problems. So, why would one possibly want to do that? (answer: engagement and motivation).

My own definition of Facilitation would stress that, in Spanish and other languages, facil means “easy” or “requiring little skill.” After all, it is the perception that asking for ideas generates worms and spiders and other creepy crawlies but that is not the reality. ASKING for ideas is really pretty simple.

For $25, you get instructions and explanations, handouts, powerpoints of the concept, and all the tools you need to involve and engage people in helping to step back from the wagon, identify the Square Wheels® and generate round wheels solutions.

Help your leaders to escape from North Korea and move to the sunshine of one of the fine beaches of the world. Get them out of the ditch of despair and up on the road of improvement. It isn’t hard; Just Ask!

For the FUN of It!

Dr. Scott Simmerman is a designer of team building games and organization improvement tools. Managing Partner of Performance Management Company since 1984, he is an experienced presenter and consultant.